Egyptians poured into Tahrir Square on Wednesday to mark a year since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, with the ruling military planning grandiose celebrations and activists vowing to reignite their unfinished revolution.

Thousands of Islamists, liberals, leftists and ordinary citizens entered the square, the epicenter of protests that ousted Mubarak, waving flags and bearing banners reflecting the day's different messages.

Blogger Michael Nabil, who was jailed last year for insulting Egypt's armed forces, was released on Tuesday, his brother said.

Marc Nabil posted a picture on Twitter of his brother on his release from prison.

Egypt's military ruler on Tuesday said the country's decades-old state of emergency will be lifted on Wednesday except in cases of fighting "thuggery," but human rights groups slammed the move as cosmetic.

"I have taken a decision to end the state of emergency, in all parts of the country, except in fighting acts of thuggery, starting on the morning of January 25, 2012," Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said Tuesday in a televised address.

Islamist MPs took center stage on Monday as Egypt's parliament met for the first time since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak, electing one of their own as speaker of the assembly.

In their first act, the deputies in the Islamist-dominated lower house voted overwhelmingly for Saad al-Katatni, a leading member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.

A newly elected Islamist deputy was scolded on Monday for adding a religious reference to the swearing-in oath at the opening session of Egypt's first post-revolution parliament.

The deputies started to be sworn in one by one, pledging to "preserve the safety of the nation and the interests of people and to respect the constitution and the law."

Activists behind the uprising which ousted Hosni Mubarak are up in arms over grandiose plans by Egypt's military rulers to celebrate the first anniversary of the revolution, insisting it is still a work in progress.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has fireworks displays and other celebrations lined up for January 25 to mark one year since the launch of the revolt that forced president Mubarak to step down after three decades in power.

Human Rights Watch urged world powers to support the rights of Arab Spring protesters to build real democracies after they ousted long-time strongmen once backed by the West, in its annual report Sunday.

"Many democracies have allowed their ties with repressive allies to temper their support for human rights in the Arab Spring protests," HRW said in its report, launched in Cairo just three days before the anniversary of the revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called Egypt's foreign minister to discuss the country's economic and political situation, as well as events in Syria, the State Department said.

It said the telephone call covered the same ground as President Barack Obama's discussion with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi on Friday, which the White House said was focused on Egypt's need for a democratic transition.

Blogger Michael Nabil who was jailed last year for insulting Egypt's armed forces has been granted a pardon, the military judiciary chief said on Saturday.

Adel al-Mursi said the decision to pardon Nabil was taken "on the occasion of the first anniversary of January 25," when the uprising began against former president Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian border police shot dead two African migrants and wounded a third as they tried to cross illegally into Israel early Saturday, security officials said.

Border police spotted the man and woman, whose nationality remains unknown, as they tried to climb over barbed wire along the frontier and fired on them after they refused to heed calls to stop.